"Inject your Immortal Essence and you'll understand," Elder Woodspirit said.
Curious, Evan Yang injected his Immortal Essence. Suddenly, a mighty force burst out from within, surging into Evan's body. Not only that, the Heaven-Cold Seed inside him began to absorb it frantically.
Seeing the Heaven-Cold Seed react this way, Evan was shocked.
"Don't worry. The Heaven-Cold Seed is much stronger than you imagine. This amount of power is only enough for it to have a hearty meal," Elder Woodspirit said with a smile.
"Senior, you..." Evan was stunned. He hadn't told anyone about the Heaven-Cold Seed—how did Elder Woodspirit know?
"Don't be so surprised. In this world, probably only I can sense that you possess the Heaven-Cold Seed. Others can't detect it," Elder Woodspirit replied with a smile.
"How is that possible?" Evan felt it was unbelievable—why could Elder Woodspirit sense the Heaven-Cold Seed?
"It's a long story. I can't explain it to you just yet, but someday you'll understand," Elder Woodspirit said.
Elder Woodspirit's words filled Evan with curiosity. He was even more eager to know how Elder Woodspirit could sense his secrets.
"Senior, you really surprised me," Evan replied.
"It's normal to be surprised. But I have to tell you, as a God-Guardian, you'll face even tougher missions in the future. You must strengthen yourself quickly—time is running out," Elder Woodspirit said.
Evan's eyes widened. Elder Woodspirit even knew he was a God-Guardian—this was hard to believe.
"Don't be so shocked. Just get used to it, or you'll always be startled when you're around me," Elder Woodspirit said with a smile.
Evan tried to compose himself. "Senior, you really are remarkable—nothing escapes you," he said.
"I know a lot, but I can't tell you everything. If I told you, it wouldn't have the intended effect. So, you must get stronger. Soon, you'll be assigned something important. No matter what, you must strengthen yourself and reach the Immortal Sovereign realm—only then will you have the ability to protect yourself," Elder Woodspirit said.
Evan was stunned—he needed to reach Immortal Sovereign just to have basic self-preservation? That sounded extreme.
"Alright, that's enough. You'll have to explore the rest yourself. Go back now," Elder Woodspirit said.
Evan put away the green wooden block and slowly left, feeling heavy-hearted.
The reason Elder Woodspirit let Evan leave was because he had noticed the appearance of an aberrant being. He muttered, "Another one has come. Looks like they're accelerating their takeover of the Immortal Realm."
In a corner of the forest, someone was hiding. It was Cole Wood. He was just about to eavesdrop on Evan and the person inside when he saw Evan leave.
"Leaving so soon? I didn't hear anything," Cole Wood muttered.
After muttering, Cole Wood slipped away, heading in the direction Evan had left.
Evan, still curious how Elder Woodspirit knew his secrets, sensed someone tailing him. He stopped and said, "Come out."
Cole Wood stepped out and said with a smile, "You seem quite capable."
"It's you?" Evan was surprised to see Cole Wood. Wasn't he defeated already? Why was he following Evan?
"That's right, it's me. I lost to you earlier, and I'm not convinced. Now I want to defeat you here," Cole Wood said.
"The tournament is over. I don't want to compete with you anymore. I'm leaving," Evan said, turning to go.
Cole Wood snorted coldly. "You want to leave? No way." With that, a wooden vine shot out, locking onto Evan.
Evan shattered the vine and was about to attack Cole Wood when he noticed the vine's color was different from before. Previously it was green, but now it was black. He was puzzled—how had Cole Wood changed so much? Was it some kind of transformation?
"You do have some tricks, but I want to see how quick your reactions are," Cole Wood said, attacking Evan. He was a bit faster than before, but not much—after all, he'd just entered Cole Wood's body and hadn't fully fused yet.
As he approached, Evan threw a punch. The blow struck Cole Wood, breaking one of his arms with a loud crack.
Evan frowned—Cole Wood seemed awfully fragile. Cole Wood, shocked and furious, hadn't expected Evan to be so terrifying. Since he hadn't fully mastered this body, his strength was limited, and his arm was ruined on the spot.
"I didn't expect you to be so much stronger than I thought. But it doesn't matter—I'll come for you again soon," Cole Wood snorted and left.
Evan found it strange—it was as if Cole Wood had become a different person.
Sure enough, Soul-Reaping Water told Evan the result, which shocked him.
"Cole Wood's soul has changed? What's going on?" Evan wondered. Something felt wrong, but he couldn't pinpoint it, so he went to find Morgana Dreamhaven to see if there were any new arrangements.
Evan soon found Morgana Dreamhaven.
When Morgana Dreamhaven saw Evan return, she asked excitedly, "Well? What did Elder Woodspirit say to you? And what was the reward?"
"The reward was this," Evan said, "and he mentioned there will be a new mission, but I'm not sure what he meant."
Morgana Dreamhaven looked suspiciously at the wooden block Evan received as a reward. She muttered, "What is this?"
"Try injecting Immortal Essence," Evan said.
Morgana Dreamhaven followed Evan's instructions, but nothing happened. She was puzzled. "It doesn't seem to do anything," she said.
Evan frowned and tried himself. This time, it worked—the block glowed green. Morgana Dreamhaven couldn't activate it, nor could Palace Lord Yuna or Miss Cloud, who also tried. The conclusion was clear: only Evan could trigger its effect.
"Looks like it's just for you," Morgana Dreamhaven said.
"Maybe so," Evan replied.
At that moment, Palace Lord Rowan of the Wood Temple sent word to Morgana Dreamhaven and the others, asking everyone to gather in the palace hall.
Upon hearing the news, Evan, Morgana Dreamhaven, and the others temporarily ignored the wooden block and headed for the palace hall.
On the way, Morgana Dreamhaven repeatedly asked about Elder Woodspirit, but Evan hadn't truly met him and said he didn't know.
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Meanwhile, on the other side, Cole Wood was tending to his crippled arm.
"I told you not to provoke him yet. You've only just started controlling this body," Lan Wind said, smiling at the injured Cole Wood.
Cole Wood, who had just arrived in the Immortal Realm and already suffered a setback, said, "He's got some skill, but I was careless. Once I've fully fused, it'll be his death day."
"I hope so, but there are other matters for now. Come on, let's go to the palace—Palace Lord Rowan is gathering everyone. Don't slip up; right now, you're a Wood Temple disciple, and Palace Lord Rowan's apprentice," Lan Wind said.
Cole Wood nodded. "Got it. Let's go."
Inside the palace hall, all the palace lords and contestants had gathered.
Evan Yang, as first place, had become the center of discussion. Everyone was amazed that he hadn't reached the Immortal Sovereign realm yet could defeat someone at the Reality-Illusion realm. It was hard for them to accept this was real and not a dream.
When Cole Wood and Lan Wind arrived at the palace hall, Evan immediately noticed them.
"Are they working together?" Evan wondered in shock.
Both Lan Wind and Cole Wood gave Evan unfriendly looks, but quickly withdrew them. When Palace Lord Rowan saw everyone had arrived, he addressed the group: "Now that our champion is here, I have some announcements and important matters to share."
Everyone was curious what the news would be.
"You all know why the palaces exist: to honor our respective Gods. The previous generation of Gods vanished, leaving behind exclusive artifacts and inheritances, hoping that someday someone would obtain them and become the next Gods. But now there's a great crisis—the disappearance of the previous Gods hides a major secret. Many may know it: there's an Otherworld filled with strange bugs, and someone there seeks to rule all realms. After a great war with the Gods, the Gods vanished and that person was sealed. Reliable sources say that person has revived—he could reappear in as little as a few thousand years, or as many as tens of thousands. Without the power of Gods, do you think the palaces and humanity can survive?" Palace Lord Rowan's words stirred up a commotion.
Some people knew bits of this, but hadn't understood the details. The palaces exist to protect their Gods.
Evan Yang was shocked—he hadn't expected the Gods' disappearance to be tied to someone from the Otherworld, or that this person would return.
Seeing the uproar below, Palace Lord Rowan said, "Evan Yang, as first place, has been recognized by Elder Woodspirit as the most promising leader of the young generation. He will lead everyone in some important tasks. I hope all participants will cooperate."
Some people were dissatisfied that Evan was chosen as leader, but kept silent. Palace Lord Rowan continued, "I've gathered you here to tell you that a place has appeared with three exclusive God artifacts. It's extremely dangerous, and we need people to retrieve those artifacts. No matter what, it's better for us to use them than let them fall into Otherworld hands." "What? Three exclusive God artifacts? Is that true?" one palace lord exclaimed.
"That's right. Elder Woodspirit detected them. They're still there, and Evan Yang is expected to lead everyone to find them," Palace Lord Rowan said.
Evan leading the group—some accepted it, others secretly cursed that someone so young was given such a responsibility.
Palace Lord Rowan knew some would object, so he said, "Evan Yang is the Ice-fire Successor and the Sacred Flame Successor. No matter what, he's already the next God candidate for both the Water and Flame Temples. Plus, he took first place this time—he's more than qualified to lead everyone to obtain the three exclusive God artifacts."